1765: Times of Transition
Wednesday 30th September 2026, 7:30 PM at West Road Concert Hall, 11 West Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 9DP.
Programme
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony no.1 in E flat major, K.16
François Danican Philidor – Tom Jones: Aria selection
Joseph Haydn – Symphony no.39 in G minor ‘Tempesta di mare’, Hob.I:39
Georg Philipp Telemann – Ino, TWV 20:41
Performers
Amanda Forsythe – Soprano
Laurence Cummings – director / harpsichord
Academy of Ancient Music
Programme Note
Mozart, Haydn, Telemann and Philidor: four composers in a passionate age, reinventing music on the wing. A dynamic start to a season of music that defies convention.
They called it “sturm und drang” – “storm and stress” – and for a few tempestuous years in the 1760s, it seemed as if music itself had turned upside down. No emotion was too powerful: this was a time for child geniuses, young radicals and cutting-edge comedy – and for old dogs to learn a few new tricks, too.
Tonight, Laurence Cummings and Academy of Ancient Music dive headlong into the crucible, with a volcanic symphony from the young Haydn, the boy Mozart’s brilliant symphonic debut, and a real discovery – a very Gallic spin on a bawdy English romp from the French composer Philidor. And then, the astonishing tragedy of Ino, retold by the 84-year old Telemann in music that would dazzle a composer a quarter his age, with 2026 Grammy Award-winning American soprano Amanda Forsythe. It’ll thrill you, too.
There will be a free pre-concert talk in the auditorium at 6.30pm.